We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robyn Bell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Robyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

So Thee CME Apparel started as a thought. I never saw myself as a business owner because I didn’t go to school for business. I am a nursing major! It was the leading of the Holy Spirit that pushed me to start a retail clothing brand for Sickle Cell Awareness! I was born with Sickle Cell Disease and growing up I never saw any merchandise that supported the Sickle Cell Community. I saw things for breast cancer awareness but nothing for Sickle Cell. I created original designs that many Sickle Cell warriors can relate to emotionally and personally. By creating Clothing with bold designs, I thought it was a unique way to create Awareness around such a silent and neglected disease! My thought around Thee CME Apparel was a play on the words “see me”, because SCD is an invisible genetic chronic disease. Our mission statement as a brand is to Cultivate healthy coping skills, Move the hearts of others with our Sickle Cell stories, and to Empower the Sickle Cell community as a whole! As a person living with SCD I think it’s important that much attention is brought to eventually make it as well known as cancer.

Robyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Robyn Bell and I am a Sickle Cell warrior! For those who are not familiar, SCD is a genetic blood disorder that causes the red blood cell to become misshaped into a crescent moon or a sickle. This mutation causes severe pain in the blood vessels within the body. I started creating designs for my clothing brand Thee CME Apparel in 2018. I didn’t officially begin selling products until 2020. One of my favorite series I created is called God is greater than Sickle Cell. This design encourages Sickle Cell warriors that we are not alone in this fight! We sell all types of clothing products like shirts, hoodies, bucket hats, dad caps etc. I am most proud of myself for not giving up when I didn’t see my business making many sales but I believe in my business and the purpose it brings! Sickle Cell Awareness through fashion! Because there are populations of SC warriors around the world I see it taking off on a global level.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I remember in 2022 I had one of the worst Sickle Cell Crisis Flare ups. I had to pause everything in my business. The pain came suddenly in my chest making it incredibly hard for me to breathe. I could not walk or move much because the severity of the pain. I remember being brought to Kaiser Permanente in Fontana and being told that “I was not in crisis and I needed to go home because He had other patients to deal with”. I was devastated because how could this doctor not believe me when I clearly could not breathe or move or even walk. I had to leave that hospital to go to another Kaiser location. There I was treated within an hour and brought to a room. I stayed there for 3 weeks! It wasn’t until after 2 weeks I could walk a little and turn myself around in the hospital bed! After that hospitalization I had to encourage myself not to give up or give in according to my circumstances. I still have my days where the pain gets the best of me. I am glad to say that I’m only a few nursing prerequisites away from nursing school. I want to show others that Sickle Cell Disease won’t stop me from becoming a nurse and expanding my clothing brand.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’m still building my audience on social media! However, the goal is to know who your target audience is. Everyone is not your target audience. There a specific group of people you have to know like the back of your hand. I found a lot of Sickle Cell warriors through Instagram and Tiktok. I personally introduced myself to them and got to know some of their stories! This route is tedious but it’s personal and gains trust. There’s always funnels, ads, and word of mouth that bring people to your social media accounts as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theecmeapparel.shop
• Instagram: @theecmeapparel
• Youtube: @theecmeapparelTV
• Other: TikTok: @theecmeapparel